Waste & Recycling

At City Colleges of Chicago, we are committed to efficiently recycling our refuse and reducing our overall waste production.

 

City Colleges of Chicago Recycling Logo.pngWe have expanded our recycling efforts to include plastic bottles, glass bottles and aluminum cans in addition to the cardboard and paper we had been recycling. This comingled recycling effort is called “Single Stream” Recycling. Composting has also been added to the mix at the Arturo Velsquez Institute, a practice we hope to expand in the future. Until a Zero Waste goal has been achieved, there will always be room for progress!     

Our city-wide recycling rate for FY2015 was 22%. This amounts to 302 tons of recycling resulting in an emissions reduction of 843 metric tons of CO2e. That is the equivalent of the annual carbon sequestration of 691 acres of U.S. forests or taking 177 cars off the road for a year!          

Who picks up the recycling materials?

For more information on how our vendors recycle the materials put in the blue recycling bins, check out the websites for our scavenger waste and recycling haulers listed below:               

  • Republic Services: Harold Washington College, Wright College, Humboldt Park Vocational Education Center, Kennedy‐King College, Dawson Technical Institute, CCC District Office

  • Lakeshore Recycling Systems: Truman College, Daley College, Arturo Velasquez Institute, Malcolm X College, West Side Learning Center, Olive‐Harvey College, South Chicago Learning Center

In addition to our scavenger services mentioned above, City Colleges recycles other materials. In many cases there are multiple vendors:                   

  • PC Rebuilders & Recyclers: Computers and computer equipment               

  • EverLights: Bulbs and ballasts          

  • Stericycle: Medical waste             

  • Environmental Office Solutions: Printer cartridges            

  • Chicago Biofuels: Cooking grease                 

Who takes out CCC recycling materials?                  

City Colleges of Chicago’s custodial services are second to none! To focus on recycling our custodians received “City Colleges Recycle” T‐Shirts. If you catch them in their snazzy Recycling t‐shirts, be sure to ask about how single-stream recycling works.